


Ephemeral Moments

by lady_inthebluebox



Category: Mass Effect: Andromeda
Genre: Blow Jobs, Drabble Collection, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Fluff, Nudity, Oral Sex, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Romance, three word prompts
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-15
Updated: 2018-01-13
Packaged: 2019-02-15 03:01:02
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 7,556
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13021854
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lady_inthebluebox/pseuds/lady_inthebluebox
Summary: Selection of my best reyder drabbles written around the three prompted words, which turned into a collage of some of the fleeting moments shared between Sybil and Reyes whenever the Tempest docks in Kadara Port.





	1. feverish, contagious, pallor

**Author's Note:**

> Big thanks to the amazing Nyghtmare for coming up with the idea of prompting three words for a regular writing exercise and being so kind to beta-read the following texts (me and my grammar anxiety are infinitely grateful).  
> It seems fair to mention that the collection of Nyght's mreyder drabbles to the same prompts can be found [here](http://archiveofourown.org/works/12840438/chapters/29318652) .

Wild beats of an electronic music, so typical for Tartarus, seemed louder today. They could even be heard inside, what turned out to be, an almost perfectly soundproofed room in the back of the establishment. As if it wasn't enough, Sybil was **feverishly** beating out its rhythm with her foot.

“Sybil, please. I can't focus with you doing that,” the man asked. Without taking his eyes off the contents of the report from the Remav System, he pressed his hand to her shaking leg.

“What?” she replied and his fingers dug into her thigh in response. “Ah, sorry… My legs want to dance, I can't hold them still anymore,” she explained with an almost childlike simplicity. “Let's take a rain check on the paperwork for this evening, huh?”

Reyes didn't answer, still stubbornly staring into his omni-tool. According to the Nightingale — the agent responsible for the operation of taking over the facilities left on the surface of the H-047C when the smuggling ring was disabled by Ryder and her crew a few weeks ago — the operation had gone without any problems.

“Even the Charlatan and the Pathfinder need a break from time to time. I guess that Heleus won't fall into the fucking black hole if we take a few hours for ourselves.”

Before he could respond, Sybil stood in front of him and — taking his free hand in hers — tried to encourage him to stand up. Normally Vidal would have been quickly annoyed by such behavior, but when he looked up at the young woman and saw her, all smiles and cheerfulness, the corners of his lips immediately rose too.

Report from the Remav was the last of the prioritized messages he had received today, and the ones left were of much lesser importance. They could wait, at least until the morning.

The man shook his head, chuckling under his nose. Ryder's attitude was truly **contagious**.

“Maybe it won't,” he replied, getting up from his spot on the couch.

Still holding his hand, the young woman turned to the doors, but before she managed to take even one step, the smuggler pulled her back, straight into the greedy embrace of his arms. The brunette instinctively threw her hands around his neck.

“We'll test that and go dancing now, but under one condition,” Reyes stipulated with a sly smirk. His glove-covered fingers brushed a few, wild strands of chestnut hair behind her ear, the colour contrasting strongly with the **pallor** of her youthful skin.

“I'm all ears,” she answered as her cut-in-half eyebrow raised in the expression of curiosity.

“You’ll do exactly as I say when we get back to my place.”

Sybil let out a short, alluring laugh before she grazed her lower lip with her teeth, surely on purpose.

“Seems fair,” she conferred. “We have a deal.” Saying this, she leaned closer to him, so they could seal their agreement with a deep kiss.


	2. perfidious, voracious, disparate

The door had barely shut behind the woman when — instead of exchanging greetings — Vidal quickly closed the distance between them and crushed onto her lips in a **voracious** kiss. It described all his longing far better than words of any known language could have. He could feel the brunette smiling against his mouth right before she responded to his greeting with equal passion.

After over five excruciatingly long and exhausting weeks, they were finally together, reunited at least for the time of Ryder's short visit to Kadara Port.

Her haversack fell from her hand onto the floor with a soft thump as he pushed Sybil against the cold surface of the door, earning a short, appreciative groan from her lips. With frigid, impatient fingers, the young woman pushed up the worn fabric of his dark t-shirt leaving gooseflesh wherever she brushed against his skin and ultimately forcing Reyes to break the kiss so she could strip him of it. Her heavy leather jacket and the lime shawl quickly followed it.

A sweet, heart-warming laughter filled the room when he easily picked Ryder up, encouraging her to knot her legs around him.

Feeling an embrace of strong thighs tightening on his sides, Reyes leaned back to the brunette's smiling lips, this time not wasting a second before sliding his sly tongue into her mouth. He hummed with contentment while Sybil lustfully sucked on it in response.

It didn't matter now how **disparate** they were from one another – for these few, precious moments, she wasn't Andromeda's white knight just as he wasn't the **perfidious** gang leader used by the Initiative as a scarecrow to discourage colonists from choosing Kadara as their new home. The propaganda hadn't work well, though. Despite the Nexus' great efforts, both Ditaeon and Kadara Port flourished under his rule, but that wasn't important now either.

The only thing Reyes had on his mind was the woman who kept coming back, not to the port or the outpost, but to him instead.


	3. lascivious, temerity, clandestine

With an accompaniment of her cheerful laughter, Reyes playfully nipped at Ryder's earlobe at the same time working on untangling his legs from between hers. When he finally freed himself, with a characteristic squeak the mattress, the smuggler rose from it and, without caring about putting on any clothes, directed his steps to his tiny kitchenette

Still stretched out on top of the messed-up sheets, propping herself up on her elbow first, Sybil attentively watched his every move.

Vidal was a moderately tall, hardy looking man shaped clearly by his profession, which, as she assumed by how easy he could lift her from the ground, must have frequently required moving around all sorts of heavy cargo. While he was busy taking out glasses and choosing the liquor, she felt a pleasant tingling between her thighs. The brunette slid her gaze down from the column of his neck (always encircled by a thin, golden chain), continuing to travel down his broad shoulders and back only to stop on firm ass – his left cheek marked by the fading outline of her teeth.

Choking on a rather silly giggle, Ryder couldn't help but think not only about how in her **temerity** she clearly got carried away a bit but also that – to her surprise – Vidal didn't mind the unexpected bite. On the contrary – it seemed like he had actually enjoyed it.

Just a moment later Reyes was back, handing her a glass filled with a good measure of his favourite, amber-coloured liquor. The mattress puffed loudly as he dropped onto it from above and immediately, comfortably spread himself in its breadth. His free hand quickly found a place for itself on the young woman's leg. Sybil almost couldn’t believe that somehow he managed to do it all without spilling even one drop of whiskey in the process.

“I was thinking …” the man began, turning his eyes to her, “any **lascivious** fantasies in this disheveled head of yours, Syb?” He inquired after a nip of whiskey, his lips stretching into a mischievous grin.

Running her fingers through her messed up hair, Ryder shot him a theatrically indignant face.

“You mean beside sleeping with a devilishly handsome mob boss?” she asked in return, with the center of her foot leisurely massaging his toned stomach.

“Beside that,” Reyes confirmed clearly amused by her answer.

Sybil dismissively shrugged her arms while taking a sip from her tumbler.

“I doubt anything would me more titillating than that... But this sounds like you have something on your mind.” The young woman turned the question towards him, suspiciously squinting her eyes. “Let me guess …” she continued. “Threesome with an asari- Better! Some beautiful boy that caught your eye in the Tartarus or somewhere.”

Vidal cocked his head to the side, looking at her with an inscrutable expression. Was it jealousy or was he disappointed with her? The brunette couldn’t really tell.

“Let’s make it clear once and for all, Sybil.” His golden eyes were piercing her through, while his fingers tightened, digging into her firm calf. “I don’t ever want to share you with anyone else,” he stated with a low, almost menacing voice, the sound of which shot a surprisingly pleasurable shiver down her spine. “The same goes for watching you with anyone else but me.”

Sybil swallowed hard feeling her cheeks burning due to the unexpected tension that quickly rose up between them. She suspected it was as close to any declarations of commitment the smuggler would have ever given. Those words were definitely carrying far more weight than _Thinking of you always_ added to one of his messages from a while ago or the short, casual complements spoken or written here and there. Somehow Sybil felt comfortable with it, always convinced lengthy, heart-wrenching monologues about love sounded good only on the stage of a theatre.

“And besides, I don’t have the taste for the blue ...” Reyes added with a shrug, his face slowly lightening up and voice turning back to its usual, slightly cheeky tone. “But you tried to evade answering my question and you’re blushing–“

“I’m not!” she denied, sounding offended by the mere implication of her being ashamed. Frustrated she prodded his side with her foot.

“Is it very dirty?” he continued daringly with a wicked smile curling on his lips once again.

Ryder nervously adjusted herself on the mattress.

“It doesn’t matter, ‘cause we won’t be able to do this,” she stated hardly able to contain her own disappointment.

“Why?”

The young woman sighed deeply. There was no way Reyes would just drop this subject now.

“Because I can’t stop thinking about you fucking me somewhere we can get caught; somewhere public,” she spewed those words even faster than she usually talked, staring into the contents of the glass held in hand.

“You do like to be a little reckless from time to time, don’t you?” Vidal’s smile dangerously widened.

“Damn it, you know I do …” she replied, deep inside hating how constrained they were by their respective titles. “But it’s too risky considering who we are.”

“I’m a **clandestine** man, Syb …” The man set his tumbler on the floor and the mattress sighed as he moved on it. “No one will ever know Reyes Vidal and the Charlatan are one and the same person …” he murmured with a low voice, beginning to crawl over her. “At least not until I want them to and when I do it usually means one of two things...” Vidal continued with lips hovering only millimeters from the brunette’s neck. “Either I trust them to keep the secret–” He nipped at her pulse point. “—or soon they’ll be dead, so it’ll be kept anyway.”

“Reyes, it’s not worth—” The smuggler cut off whatever she wanted to say by pressing his index finger to her soft lips.

“Too late … Now, I can only promise to keep it in mind,” he said, concluding it with a playful wink.


	4. cognizant, inhibition, ravenous

It was hard to tell how long they had been on the dancefloor, but by now their clothes were soaked with sweat and their hearts seemed to beat to the wild rhythm of Tartarus’s electronic music. After having a couple strong shots at the bar, they quickly managed to merge with the thick, multi-raced crowd of the night club’s patrons, leaving their heavy titles as well as their names at the door. For one evening they became just another pair engaged in a sultry dance.

Even though Vidal knew quite a few dance moves from back in the Milky Way – during his regular stops on Omega, he used to visit Afterlife after all – clubbing had never been his favourite pastime. However, if it meant seeing Sybil losing herself in dance, he was eager to come down to the dancefloor from time to time.

The aggressive beats seemed to flow through her body in the waves of smooth movements making her look like she was in her element. Reyes couldn’t help but devour the brunette with a **ravenous** gaze. Breathing heavily through parted lips, with hazy eyes and cheeks flushed from both heat and exertion, Ryder looked simply gorgeous.

Causing her ponytail to swirl she threw head back at the same time loosely encircling his neck with her arms. Her hips swayed under the smuggler’s hands, and her round breasts bounced rhythmically under the thin fabric of a crisp, white tank-top just a few millimeters from his chest making his blood pump through his veins even faster than it already had been.

Sybil looked at the man from under her eyelashes and, seeing him staring right at her with nothing but lust painting itself on his features, provocatively licked her dry lips with the tip of her tongue. Swiftly, she turned her back to him, starting to unceremoniously brush her ass against his crotch and Reyes’ reaction was immediate – fisting her shirt, he drew her even closer to himself.

“Sybil,” he growled dangerously right into Ryder’s ear, the tickle of his breath on her earlobe making her pleasantly shiver.

She answered him with a dark laugh, which completely drowned in the loud music, not even for a second stopping the movements of her hips.

As if he momentarily wasn’t **cognizant** of where they were, Vidal pressed his hungry lips to the back of her neck, adorned with the elaborate lines of the mandala-like tattoo. With the corner of his eye, he caught Sybil reaching back and a second later, he felt her short nails digging into his nape. Unable to tell if it was supposed to be an encouraging gesture or one of **inhibition** , he restrained himself, moving back to the young woman’s ear.

“It’s time for us to get out of here,” Reyes said huskily and, taking her by the hand, he led her to the exit.


	5. boisterous, scarcely, zealously

With both hands embracing a chipped mug full of black coffee, Reyes leaned back against one of the counters forming a tiny kitchenette and swept the rest of his simple, prefab residence with a quick glance. Crates with his belongings stood in their usual places – clean clothes laid neatly folded on top of the one closest to the bathroom’s door and sheets spread on the thick, angaran air-mattress, as usual, were an utter mess. In short - everything seemed to be in perfect order and yet the smuggler couldn’t get rid of the impression something was missing.

It didn’t take him long to realise it wasn’t a ‘thing’ that made his place feel somewhat empty, but rather a presence of Ryder and her **boisterous** personality.

 **Scarcely** a day ago, the shiny Initiative’s vessel had docked in the port again – this time only for a brief refuel. Sybil however, decided to use it as a perfect excuse to spend an evening with him. It was becoming a habit of theirs, that after having few drinks in Tartarus or Kralla’s they were eventually winding up carelessly stripping off their clothes here.

The next morning, drinking from the same cup as he did today, Vidal sat with her in the middle of the messed-up bedding still faintly smelling of the last night’s passion. He was very intrigued to listen about her current exploits. Apparently, the crew of the Tempest was in the middle of scouting the outskirts of the cluster for samples of the scourge, **zealously** pursuing the last possible trace leading to the mysterious Meridian which was supposedly the command center of all the remnant vaults.

Reyes felt an unpleasant knot settling down in his stomach at the thought of how many good pilots fell victim to this strange phenomenon. Now, when it was mapped, the scourge didn’t pose as much of a threat as it used to when they were making first reconnaissance of the cluster. He considered himself lucky that thanks to visits to all sorts of dangerous planets and places back in the Milky Way, he had enough opportunities to learn navigating hazardous environments to not get killed by some deadly space-cloud right after being brought out of stasis. It was reassuring to know that one of the few, if not the only, with whom he could rival in terms of both skills and reflexes was now sitting at the helm of Ryder’s ship.

Unexpectedly his omni-tool beeped drawing him back from his thoughts.

Taking a mouthful of his coffee before putting the mug aside, Reyes quickly opened the message.

  
_From: SR1  
__To: RV_

_We’ve collected and analysed enough data from the scourge and we are on our way to put them to (hopefully) good use._

_Cross your fingers!  
_ _S._


	6. influence, grandiose, diligent

A huge, krogan bouncer smiled at Ryder when she approached the entrance to Tartarus. It still felt weird to see other representatives of the species looking at her almost as friendly as Drack did. Despite the initial strangeness of his expression, the brunette returned the smile while passing him by.

Even though it was still too early for the club to be completely packed, Kian couldn’t complain for the lack of patrons. Walking by one of the small but loudly chatting gatherings, pleasantly surprised the young pathfinder realised that it consisted of both exiles and the miners from the outpost – distinguishable from the residents of the port mostly thanks to the Initiative’s logos still woven into their clothes. The sight made her happy. She took it as a good sign of the divisions between colonists starting to slowly fade away.

Over her countless visits Sybil grew familiar, not only with the bouncers and owner of Tartarus, but also with the atmosphere of the place. With its dirty, dark corners, red-ish neon lights, loud music and ever-present scents of sweat and cheap alcohol, it wasn’t exactly the most luxurious establishment in the cluster, but that seemed to be the greatest advantage in both hers and Reyes’ eyes. All because it was highly unlikely anyone would’ve ever believed that the infamous Charlatan preferred it over the **grandiose** of the throne room in the building once serving as an Outcast’s main base in the port.

The bartender’s sharp eyes as always quickly fished Ryder out from the crowd. The Scotsman waved at her and she quickly answered him with the same gesture. This time the young woman didn’t stop for a chat, however, instead right away climbing up the metal staircase, skipping one or even two steps on her way.

After reaching the upper floor, in record time, she crossed the distance to the doors separating her from seeing Reyes again. With a loud thump of her heart echoing in ears, the brunette pressed an opening console and, before they had enough time to open wide, she slipped inside.

Just like Sybil suspected, she found Vidal sitting comfortably splayed on one of the couches, **diligent** as always, with furrowed brows looking into the contents of the datapad he held before himself. As soon as she entered, however, Reyes’ amber irises rose from over the device – his gaze warming and expression softening within a second.

Without a single word, Ryder rushed towards him and, pushing aside the man’s hand still clutching the device, she straddled his lap. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed two tumblers (both extremely well-polished for Tartarus’ standards) waiting on the table along with a slim, elegant bottle of whiskey. He was prepared, only passing time while waiting for her stop by.

How long had it been since he held her? A month? Two? - the smuggler couldn’t tell. All days in between her short visits were merging with each other into an indistinguishable mass of hours of which probably too many he had spent working his ass off in one way or another. With the Collective’s reach – through his **influence** – spreading around the cluster, he couldn’t complain about the lack of matters that needed his attention

Vidal carelessly dropped his datapad onto the seating and, inhaling fresh scent of her messy locks, drew Sybil closer, pressing her against himself in a tight embrace. They rarely exchanged any kinds of casual greetings – their lips meeting in a deep, hungry kisses instead and today wasn’t any exception. Their tongues intertwined right after, lapping against one another at first, only to start swirling in a lustful dance a few moments later.

With one of Reyes’ hands squeezing her breast and the other tightening on her hip, without thinking Ryder slid her glove-covered palm up his neck. She knotted her fingers tightly in his pedantically styled hair, desperately trying to draw him even closer to herself than he already was. The man appreciatively groaned in response and shortly after broke the fervent kiss by pulling at her soft, lower lip first.

“Good to have you back,” he said hoarsely when their mouths parted, his lips still teasingly brushing against hers with every word.


	7. intensely, intoxicating, delirious

After her short but adventurous service in the Systems Alliance, Sybil was used to finding fun wherever she could. Charging straight at the pirates attacking the research outpost worked as good as drinking, dancing and occasionally hooking-up during shore leaves … And this was exactly how her affair with Reyes began – from a delightful diversion.

At first, it presented itself as a rare opportunity to blow off the steam in a more pleasurable way than sparing with Cora or hanging out with Liam, Peebs, and Vetra in Vortex. Because even though Sybil really enjoyed exchanging stories from the Milky Way over the colourful drinks served in the Nexus’ only bar, it felt even better to be able to ditch them and the whole Initiative at least for a night

With every visit to Kadara however, Sybil had a growing impression that Reyes was **intoxicating** almost as much as the strong, unnamed liquors served in Tartarus. Everything seemed to draw her to him – from the confident swagger with which he carried himself to the characteristic, spicy scent of his skin. She couldn’t get enough of him no matter how hard she tried. Somehow, even the truth about him being the Charlatan and the whole cunning takeover the port she has got unwillingly tangled up in wasn’t enough to change it.

Sybil noticed a rather subtle alteration of his demeanor then – a warm spark showing in his amber eyes from time to time before, settled there for good. Detail so small and easy to miss ensuring her of how important it was for him that despite all that took place, the secrets he kept and will continue to keep to some degree, she still decided to give him a chance.

Still, they had never extensively talked about their feelings, sometimes blurting a word or two about missing the other throughout the weeks spent apart but not much else. No big words were ever spoken. No confessions were made. For most of the time whatever Reyes and Sybil felt for one another, they shared using a primitive language of fierce kisses, inarticulate cries and **delirious** fingers exploring every curve and hollow of the other’s body, trailing every freckle, mole and scar almost like they wished to learn them by heart.

This afternoon wasn’t any different. Vidal crossed the doorstep of his small cabin, having the brunette’s legs wrapped around his waist, her hands clutched tightly to the collar of his vest and lips pressed to his own in a voracious kiss. He stopped nearby the makeshift bed, trying to somehow take off at least her jacket. It came off after a moment of a clumsy struggling and before Ryder managed to cling back to him as tightly as she did before, Reyes unceremoniously threw her onto the thick angaran air-mattress.

“Hey!” the brunette shouted surprised but right away the room was filled with her cheerful giggles.

They didn’t waste any time, carelessly throwing aside the rest of their clothes, knowing that they would have time for exchanging stories and questions later. After greeting each other **intensely** , they will share some drinks while laying naked with only crumpled sheets to cover them until the peaceful sleep would take one and encourage the other to go to sleep too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To those three heroes who left kudos here - thank you very much :*


	8. elicited, mischievous, bold

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a fair warning this drabble is explicit and that I've changed the rating of the whole collection 'cause there are a few more similar pieces coming soon(-ish) ;)

“We should go,” Reyes murmured to the young woman’s lips, right after they broke up a heated kiss.

Having Sybil tightly wrapped around himself, he wanted to get up from his usual spot on the couch only to get pushed back against it by both of the young woman’s hands – bright, biotic blue shining on her fingertips.

“No,” she stated firmly. “We’re staying …” With a **mischievous** grin and palms still pressed to the man’s chest, Ryder leaned closer to his ear. “At least until I’ll be done with you,” she whispered and, as if wanting to confirm her naughty intentions, nipped at the man’s earlobe.

Vidal hissed, for a short moment his hands involuntarily tightening around the young woman’s waist. Not the first time this evening a jolt of pleasure ran down his spine and further down through his dick. Her **bold** demand sounded so promising that he didn’t say even one word of objection, too curious as to what she had in mind.

The brunette chuckled against the slightly scratchy skin of the smuggler’s jaw at the sound he made. In her thoughts however, she was cursing every piece of his outfit, while her impatient fingers worked on undoing the fastenings and zippers keeping it in one piece.

Immediately after opening up his padded chest piece, Ryder relieved frustration by scrapping her short nails down Reyes’ chest, but she didn’t bother to strip him of his clothes. Feeling the grasp of the man’s fingers loosened, Sybil pushed his arms aside and, leaving on his throat a darkening hickey first, she swiftly slid down, landing on her knees before him.

Transfixed, Reyes looked as the young woman moved her slim palms up the insides his thighs, parting his legs with the motion. Glancing up while provocatively licking her full lips, she gave his cock a few, firm strokes through the rough fabric of his trousers, stopping as soon as he began to roll his hips against her grip.

Sybil shook her head at him and the smuggler huffed irritably, following her fingers that moved up, to the buckle of his belt and fumbled with it for a few, terribly long moments. Desperately wanting to speed up the process, he reached to undo it himself, but she pushed his hands aside once more.

“Are you getting impatient?” the young woman teased and bowed her head to suck on the sensitive skin of his abdomen, **eliciting**  from his lips, a short, petulant groan.

Vidal didn’t reply, tightening the grasp of his fingers on the edge of the couch. He was barely able to restrain himself from getting the brunette up from the floor, bending her over the nearby table and unceremoniously fucking her senseless.

Sybil quickly recognized the state Reyes was in; everything from the heaviness of his breath, quivering of jaw as he clenched his teeth to the desire burning in his amber irises, telling her that he was on edge.

Without any further delays, she unzipped his pants and hastily dragged them down to his ankles along with his underwear. The smuggler barely had a moment to let out a breath of relief before her soft lips encircled his throbbing cock and drew from his mouth a deep, throaty moan – a delightful, albeit rarely heard sound that always made Sybil tightly squeeze her thighs. Locking steel blue eyes with his, Ryder hungrily sucked on his thick shaft with every bob of her head trying to take more and more of it, concurrently running her fingers up and down his thighs.

She always enjoyed giving oral as much as receiving them, but there was something special about pleasuring Reyes this way. For most of the time the man was a portrait of self-control and making him slowly lose it; seeing him like this – his attire in a complete mess, always flawlessly styled hair mussed and a blissful expression taking over his handsome features with every lascivious swirl of her tongue around his hot flesh – always felt incredibly satisfying.

“Fuck,” the man swore under his breath, glove-covered fingers brushing back strands of unruly chestnut hair that fell onto Ryder’s face as she worked his cock with her sinful lips.

Having her cheeks hollowed in suction, she hummed pleasantly around him when his fingers tugged on the back of her head – vibrations of her voice causing waves of pleasure run through every cell of his body.

Reyes barely restrained himself from pushing her face down his length, when, still unabashedly glancing up at him, Sybil backed away, focusing her attention on the sensitive tip of his cock. She spent her sweet time lapping and swirling her sleek tongue around the engorged corona, tasting the pre-cum leaking out while treating it just like one of those lollypops she liked to suck so much. At the same time, her slim, nimble fingers stroked his shaft in a steadily fastening pace – both of the sensations combined making a familiar tension grow quickly down in his lower abdomen.

“Syb ...” The shortened version of her name sounded almost like a gasp between his heavy breaths. “I’m cl—” Vidal didn’t finish, swearing loudly with an already hoarse voice instead while, sucking harder than before, Ryder unexpectedly devoured as much of his member as she could.

Moaning her name interchangeably with various profanities and listening to the lewd sounds echoing in the room, Reyes helplessly threw his head back against the couch as the pressure in his groin began to be unbearable. In a matter of only a few more, rapid bobs of the brunette’s head, his body violently shuddered and he came inside her hot, welcoming mouth.

Gradually slowing down her movements, Sybil continued sucking, hungrily swallowing every single drop of his release. Only when she felt him falling relaxed into the seating, she let go of his dick.

“Now we can leave,” Ryder stated and smiling wickedly, licked the mix of saliva and semen off her slightly swollen lips.

Reyes looked down at her with still hazy eyes.

“No.” This time he was the one to disagree. “Not until I’ll repay you in kind.”


	9. haughty, furtive, incredulous

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the kudos and all <3 It means a lot.

Bright stripes of the leisurely setting sun were interlacing with the shadows of the Kadara Port’s buildings, forming a mosaic of shades and colorful lights on its pavements. Ryder didn’t look under her feet, however, as she rushed her steps through the subsequent terraces and narrow alleys on her way to a small cabin hugged tightly to one of the steep mountainsides.

Trying to eliminate any chances of being followed, from time to time she had been making some **furtive** turns, which, sadly for her impatient self, at most times meant making loops around the area.

Somehow, unwillingly she was reminded of the way Cora’s **incredulous** look pierced her as she was passing the woman by before leaving the Tempest’s cargo bay. Even though none of her crewmates have got the knowledge about where she was heading, they all knew with whom she was going to spend every single night during their stay on Kadara. Some of them disagreed with Sybil’s choice of company, but no one, not even Lieutenant Harper, discussed the matter with her, aware of how stubborn she was sometimes. Arguments would most likely be just a waste of breath.

Her crewmates judged Vidal by his reputation as the Charlatan of course, but Sybil knew there was so much more to him than that. She didn’t blame them for overlooking some of the reasons making her go back to him even despite knowing that he had been the man standing behind the Collective all along.

First, and one of the most important, was exactly the fact Reyes let her in on a secret known only to a selected few. The other she valued even more was, that unlike the many people from the Nexus and even some of her crewmates, she had never felt treated **haughtily** by him, even though he probably had an upper hand over her in every situation.

Cora would have probably argued it was of course just the part of his game aimed to gain her trust and, while thankful for her concern, Ryder was convinced about Reyes’ sincerity. Yes, from the beginning the smuggler teased and tested her to measure if she would be an asset or a liability to him and his organization – there was no way to deny it. Still, he had never been condescending, never belittled or mocked her due to her young age or ties to the Initiative, instead giving her a fair chance to show what she was made of and Sybil appreciated it.

Their following relationship was a complicated one, to say the least and to make it work despite their many differences they needed to come into quite a few compromises. Manoeuvring the maze of secrets, half-truths and white lies wasn’t easy at times, but the sense of safety and belonging she felt by his side was making up for all of it.

Just before the last crossing of the alleys separating her from a short pathway leading to the slightly secluded prefab building, Ryder shot a cautious glance over her shoulder only to be sure no one followed her. Seeing that indeed the sidewalk behind was clear, she made a turn – immediately spotting a familiar, broad-shouldered silhouette of a man in the distance. Nonchalantly leaning with his elbows onto the railing of the terrace overlooking the valley of Draullir as well as a part of Sulphur Springs in the distance, he had his eyes fixed on the vista bathed in the bright oranges and magentas of the sunset. It was indeed a magnificent sight at any time of day, but at the moment Sybil couldn’t focus on its beauty. The only thing she could have thought about was that instead of the usual light years, just a few steps separated them now.

“Enjoying the view?” Ryder asked approaching Reyes’ side and immediately mimicking his posture.

“I do,” the smuggler confirmed, corners of his lips curling slightly in a small smile. “But now I don’t need to look so far to see a breath-taking beauty,” he added and before she had a chance to poke fun of how cheesy his compliment was, catching her by the chin, Reyes pulled Sybil in for a kiss.


	10. volatile, boundless, squalid

Life had a strange tendency to be **volatile** – it loved to run smoothly one second only to take a turn into a bumpy road when least expected – both Reyes and Sybil knew that maybe all too well. They experienced the twists of fate in one way or another and even though lives were fairly calm now, considering their roles, possibilities for everything to go to shit within the blink of an eye were almost **boundless**.

Their way of dealing with the issue, without exactly doing much about it at the same time, was not making any plans for the future. They didn’t allow themselves to dream about any kinds of a small, but comfortable house located in one of the secluded valleys in the Badlands, making it easier to avoid any disappointments that might have ensued on their way.

Instead, Vidal and Ryder focused on the present, trying to get as much of whatever moments they shared as it was possible. They constantly needed to be cautious, of course, but the need to be close to one another sometimes made them a little reckless.

Just like that one time they suddenly disappeared in one of many dark, **squalid** alleys of the Kadara Port …

It was dirty where they stood, Ryder was almost sure she heard a squeak of some sort of rat-like creature native to the planet when the smuggler dragged her there. Her attention was quickly drawn elsewhere when her back got pressed against the metal wall of one of the buildings.

Pushing his knee between her legs, with a wolfish grin stretching on his lips, Reyes leaned to her and closed her mouth with a lecherous kiss. His sly tongue followed promptly, entangling with hers in the most enticing kind of tango.

Before they realized, their hands were squeezing and tugging on anything they could grab, whether it meant clothes or hair – it didn’t matter.

Neither Sybil nor Reyes couldn’t really tell how long they were making out in this dirty back street, but when they finally emerged from the shadows their cheeks were flushed and their clothes mussed. They moved slowly, busy with attempting to make themselves presentable again. The smuggler smoothed the collar of his vest and, using a pocket comb – one he always carried in a satchel hanging from his belt – proceeded with fixing his hairstyle, while Sybil tried her best to brush tousled chestnut locks into a ponytail.

Only when both of them looked a bit more like they did before winding up in the dark alley, they resumed their way to Kralla’s Song.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for leaving me kudos, guys <3


	11. satisfied, eager, skilled

The rain was a very rare phenomenon on Kadara. Usually, not even one drop of water would fall from the sky for weeks or even months, but when it finally did, it was never just a simple rainfall. Thick, dark clouds were covering the usually pastel-colored sky above Kadara Port, and storms roared incessantly for three days at least, violent winds shaking prefab buildings and terraces hanging from the steep mountainsides.

Most of the dwellers preferred to stay home and avoid the contact with the still unpleasantly acidic rain, so the streets tended to be almost empty – occasionally someone would run from under one roof to hide beneath another on their way to Kralla’s or the elevator leading to the slums. All of the port’s life moved to the cavern below for the duration of those rare rainstorms, leaving the market square filled only with the sounds of water pouring onto the pavements from the angry sky.

Even the constantly busy docks were quiet those few days. Warnings about the severe storms were broadcasted through the satellites, so very few ships approached it and only the bravest (or dumbest) shuttle pilots were taking off and flying anywhere with huge thunderbolts frequently lacerating the dark clouds.

Reyes had seen worse thunderstorms back in the Milky Way – those occasionally raging over Kadara weren’t half as bad as the ones he encountered on Hagalaz for instance, but even as **skilled** of a helmsman as he, needed to remember that staying cautious in such weather conditions meant staying alive.

“You’ve completely spaced out,” Ryder’s cheerful voice interrupted his thoughts. “Are you plotting how to take over the world again?” she asked playfully.

Instinctively, the embrace of his arms around the young woman’s athletic body became a little tighter than just a moment before.

“You know me, I can’t afford to rest on my laurels,” the man admitted and quietly chuckled. “But you’re not bad yourself, Syb. That scheme you’ve executed to stay on Kadara a while longer was a quite crafty one,” he stated, looking down at the brunette.

It was the second day of the storm and their second day together. Throughout the first one, they had stayed mostly sleeping and having the laziest sex so far. It turned out to be surprisingly refreshing after all those times they’ve had passionate, sometimes rough lovemaking before.

Today, they were moving only between his makeshift bed, bathroom, and kitchenette – in variable order. Eventually, dressing in clean underwear first, they wound up back on top of crumpled sheets, soft jazz playing in the background, blending perfectly with the relaxing sounds of rain coming from outside.

Reyes sat with a soft pillow put between his back and the cold surface of the metal wall having Sybil cuddled against his side – her soft cheek pressed to his chest and a firm leg wrapped possessively around his waist. Her index finger tickled his skin, lazily drawing zigzags between freckles covering his shoulders. Both of them savoured every second in the other one’s company not sure when, if at all, they will be able to spend their time as unconcerned about everything around them as they were doing now.

“Well, I might’ve learned a thing or two from the Charlatan himself,” Ryder replied with a small, self- **satisfied** smile.

Reyes couldn’t help but remark to himself on how strange it still was to hear this name, or rather a title, rolling off the young woman’s tongue so casually, or jokingly even. He did his best to hide it was making him feel a bit uneasy, however.

“Faking a report for director Tann, bribing the outpost’s major, and convincing your crew to confirm your story with theirs… I’m impressed,” the smuggler conceded instead. “And a little flattered. You did this for me, after all,” he added and winked his amber eye.

Sybil snorted, trying not to laugh out loud, but after few seconds something ‘clicked’ in her head and she looked at him with a deep frown of suspicion.

“Wait a minute!” she exclaimed quickly, her fingertip abruptly stopping its travel over his skin. “How do you know all that?”

Vidal let out another chuckle.

“Let’s just say I have my ways,” he said clearly amused. “If you’ll continue to be such a brilliant pupil, maybe one day I’ll share them with you—”

“You are not spying on me, right?” Ryder rose on her arms, narrowing her steel-blue eyes at him, more than sure he would be able to do so.

Reyes didn’t answer right away, but by the way he looked at her, the brunette quickly recognized that, unknowingly, she must have asked a delicate question.

“Me? Never,” the smuggler denied, trying to keep the humorous attitude. “Not always at least,” he added this time with more honesty.

“Can you elaborate?” Sybil inquired, not sure how to understand it.

“When you’re on Kadara, I know where you are and what you’re doing. But when you’re gone for weeks—” Vidal faltered for a split second, not sure if he should tell her the whole truth. “I sometimes can’t help myself from checking on you and your crew’s reports for the Initiative brass just to be sure everything is fine,” he explained, collecting himself within a blink of an eye.

_He is worried about me…_

Sybil cocked her head to the side, a generous smile stretching her pale lips. Somehow, hacking her emails just to make sure she was alright, sounded so much like a thing only he would have thought of. She didn’t really care about what other information he got from her messages, aware Reyes would have eventually found out about the details of the Initiative’s operations either way.

 _Knowledge is power_ , he had told her once, when she caught him in the middle of the night at reading through the new intelligence from the other side of the cluster.

“Reyes …” Her slightly bruised hand brushed back strands of usually neatly-brushed, black hair, now loosely falling onto the man’s forehead. Sybil didn’t care that it was clear how deeply his concern about her well being moved her. “You know you can always just ask me, right?”

“There is no point,” Reyes stated with a subtle shrug. “I know you well enough to foresee you wouldn’t be **eager** to tell me about any problems to not worry me,” he explained as her fingers affectionately caressed his temple and slid down his cheek.

He was right. Aware he had a whole bunch of his own problems on Kadara, Sybil didn’t want to add her issues to the pile. They regularly exchanged emails, less frequently calls, but it was all just banter and some teasing. Other times she was sending him rants at someone or something that annoyed her to which Reyes often playfully asked her if she needs him to step in - but not much more.

“You know me too well.” Ryder shook her head at him.

Vidal chuckled.

“You might be right,” he stated with an almost uncommonly wide smile on his lips, watching as the frown between brunette’s eyebrows deepened. “Knowing that once, the brave Pathfinder and her twin brother crashed their father’s skycar into a lake on the Presidium, doesn’t really fill me with much hope about our future in Andromeda,” he continued jesting.

“You’re just being a dick now!” The same hand that caressed his face just a few minutes ago, smacked his chest and with this, Reyes couldn’t hold back laughter any longer.

In one swift movement, and with the accompaniment of the brunette’s giggles as well as the mattress’ heavy puff, he rolled her onto her back.

“And yet you’re ready to lie and cheat to spend more time with me,” the man said, looking at her from above. “There must be something special about this dick,” he added smugly.

After enabling him taking over the Kadara Port, it became a habit, that Sybil planned the Tempest routes so they could regularly stop on Kadara, and she was ready to use any excuse to prolong her stay on the planet. In his wildest dreams, however, Reyes would have never thought, that somehow Ryder would grow so attached to him …

“I don’t know,” she murmured, interrupting Reyes’ thoughts, and batted her eyelashes at him. “I think I might need a reminder…” The brunette hooked her arms around his neck.

“Troubles with memory in your early twenties? Not good, now I’m seriously worried,” he quipped immediately.

“Oh, just shut up …” Sybil huffed in return and pulled him down for a kiss.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments? Remarks? Advice? Questions? I would be more than happy to hear any :)


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